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The Hidden Paradise Of Morocco

Morocco, AlHoceima

7 June – 12 July

The Hidden Paradise Of Morocco

My Summer vacation started at my hometown, Al Hoceima. As I explained in my previous posts “Welcome to my Rifland” & “The Berber land”, Al Hoceima is a small city in the north of Morocco with beautiful beaches and mountains.

After being one year away from home, without seeing my family and friends, it was definitely a blast to be back home. It felt awesome to be surrounded by family, friends and most importantly, to spend time with my two brothers, who mean the world to me. Al Hoceima is like a meeting point to us and it will always be. No matter where life will take us we’ll always go back there.

Living in Boston made me realize how important my family and country are I just missed them so much. I had never been away from my country, and without seeing my loved ones for almost a year. Let me tell you what I also missed besides family: the food! Yes, the food. The taste of the vegetables, the fruits, the quality of the bread, Moroccan dishes…. Everything!

Luckily I went back to Morocco for Ramadan. For those who don’t know what Ramadan is, Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, a month during which the Muslim community fasts from sunrise to sunset. It was the right moment to be home, which means great food everyday, family reunion and chill life. Once Ramadan was over, my chill life changed into beach life! I know, I can’t complain… because it’s the best life, at least that’s how I see it!

I enjoyed the beach with my brothers everyday, morning and afternoon. Al Hoceima beaches are wonderful, you can find all the types of beaches, from rocky beaches to sandy ones. Beaches in Al Hoceima also offer stunning sunsets, with marvelous pink skies My parents house has a nice view on the sea, a perfect spot to enjoy sunsets. Watching the sunset from home was one of my favorite moments of the day.

Most people know Morocco as Marrakech, Fes, and other touristy cities, but Morocco is not only the Sahara, the medinas, it’s much more than that. I think people should be more open to see the other parts of it, because it’s really worth it. For instance the northern side of Morocco is so pretty; you can visit the mountains, the beaches, national parks and the northern medinas have nothing to envy from the famous ones in Marrakech, Fes and Essaouira.

I definitely recommend you to do a trip starting from Tangier, the romantic city, then going to Asilah, the artistic town, then to Chefchaouen, the blue city, and finally to Al Hoceima where you can enjoy thesandy and shingly beaches like Quemado, Cala Iris, Bades, Torres and Tala Yussef, and its mountainous rocky areas.

Al Hoceima, my perfect beach town isn’t a fancy resort or a glitzy planned community, it’s a place with a hometown grocery that has decent meat, seafood, a couple of ice cream shops and a handful of good restaurants – where the city vibe code is ‘no stress, no noise, no problem’.

The city is very clean, very safe, quiet and relaxing city; people are nice, respectful and helpful; I would also say that it’s a conservative city. Note: I´m not saying all this good stuff because it’s my hometown, but if you don’t believe me go yourself there and you´ll find out!

I’ll share with you my favorite beaches in town, unfortunately not all the ones you’ll see in the photos are listed below, because most of the spots I go are hidden and difficult to access. We literally have these beaches only for me and my brothers haha! I would like to share their location, but it’s really hard to guide you. You must be from the city to know theses spots. What I would suggest you is to rent a kayak or a boat and go discover it for yourself, just follow the cliffs and you´ll find stunning spots.

Here are the top beaches you should go to if you visit Al Hoceima:

Playa Quemado

Tala Yousef

Rmoud

Izdi

Playa Sfiha

Playa Matadero

Cala Bonita

Isly

Cala Iris

Park National

Playa Temsaman

Tores

Food & Drinks:

Club Nautique: This is the main restaurant at the port, and a good one. After 6pm you can buy your fish fresh off the boat and have them grill it for you. The second floor overlooks the whole port and is a great place to relax and a have beer or Moroccan mint tea in the fresh air.

Cafe La Belle Vue: It really does offer a splendid view. There are several similar cafes on this area of Mohammed V with great views. I would suggest you to have breakfast in this cafe.

Basilic

Mira Palace

Chafarinas

Mercure

Where to sleep:

Chafarinas Beach hotel (very nice sunset, beach and mountains view)

Hotel Amir Plage (2 steps from the beach)

Mercure Quemado Resort (beach and mountain view)

Hotel Al Hoceima Bay (fantastic beach and forest view)

Casa Paca Guesthouse (small and beautiful hotel, nicely located above the southern beach of Al-Hoceima which is very clean. You have a wonderful view into the whole bay).

Gite Colina Del Viento (located in the national park of Al Hoceima, you´ll enjoy the Rif mountains and other amazing beach views, you can also do a boat trip to see/swim with dolphins)

I hope you enjoyed reading about my city and I hope you get to see it one day!

Please feel free to ask me anything in the comment field, I’ll be more than happy to answer your questions.

PS: If you are planning to visit Al Hoceima and want to know a specific beach that you saw in the blog post. DM me on Instagram and I´ll try to guide you.

Oh, I so wish that I had visited Morocco when we lived in Cairo but the second Gulf war broke out and complicated things. I still hope to visit your beautiful country. I had an Algerian friend whose father was Berber. She told me that he had blonde hair and blue eyes – fascinating. The Vikings, I assume? You must have had a huge culture shock moving to Boston from Morocco. Houston is very different from Cairo but my ancestors come from Texas, Mexico and Ireland for the most part. I don’t really look like an Ortega…💃

Thank you Kerry! It’s never too late to visit Morocco. My grandma has blue eyes also haha. When I first moved to Boston I was completely lost it took me a while to get used to the culture and everything, but I like being here experiencing a different lifestyle.

I am the first blue eyed grandchild for my Grandma Juanita who was Mexican American. When we moved to Houston from Cairo, I couldn’t believe the supermarkets. So much food but it didn’t taste as good as fresh Egyptian food.

Welcome back home! The photos look amazing- those underwater shots are great!! Boston is okay, too, I guess, but I can’t imagine it feels anything close to home! (I was just in Boston on Sunday- it’s all pizza and baseball)

The pictures are beautiful, the way you speak about your hometown really shows just how much it means to you, I hope when I am able that I will visit Morocco, because I am sure that is has a lot more to offer.